• Blog - Crafts

    T Tuesday: Fast paced edition

    It’s been a whirlwind of activity around here since last week. I think the last time I’ve had two hours to rest during the day was when I was in the salon, last T Tuesday, getting my hair done.

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    I’ve been sewing like crazy. On both fabric…

    cup cozy

    And paper.

    sewn cards

    Of course, some painting as well.

    painted series

    In fact I have some spray painted goodies in the garage right now. Hopefully I’ll get everything done for Saturday. I have so many ideas now at the last minute for my craft sale. That’s the way it always works with me. I come down to the wire and my mind starts racing with new items to add to my table.

    In addition to my “crafty crap”, as Mr. G so affectionately refers to it,  I have these this on my list.

    • a chapter to read for my bookclub tomorrow.
    • finish A Wrinkle in Time for Big J’s “partners in reading” project….yes, I get homework too.
    • mow the lawn…bagging it since there are so many leaves.

    As well as the regular Tuesday stuff…knitting group, pesky household chores and  visiting T Stands for Tuesday blogs.

    What are you doing today?

  • Blog

    Upcycling projects

    We all know how to recycle and I’m sure most do it daily. Newspapers, cardboard, glass and plastic are all readily recyclable in most cities, at least across the USA.

    This is wonderful! But I’ve been really focused on upcycling lately.  Finding a new use for something that would ordinarily be tossed out.  Wine corks, bottle caps, worn out clothing, stained linens, broken plates…you get the idea.treesI showed a sneak peek of these a while ago. I made a wine cork tree last year but this time I decided to change things a bit. I used a Champagne cork cut in half for the trunk.  I think they turned out really cute.

    sewing

    I’ve also been using some scraps from previous projects such as the denim remaining after completing a quilt or two.  As well as the remainder of the dress shirts that I made wine bottle gift bags from.

    cards

    In addition I’ve been making a bunch more cards. I’ll show more of these last two projects at a later date. The cards have much less upcycling in it’s truest sense but I am still attempting to include elements that might otherwise be considered unusable such as tiny scraps of fabric and yarn. As well as photo trimmings. I have a cigar box full of photo trimmings…they have such vibrant colors that it’s a shame to toss them out.

    It doesn’t have to be Earth Day to be a little “green”. Do a little more every day to be kind to our planet. Last time I checked…it’s the only one we have. 🙂

  • Blog - Crafts

    Kraft cards

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    I absolutely love kraft paper but don’t use it very often.

    Today I made my kraft series of cards.

    Well…I’m not sure you can call them a series but every card had kraft paper as the base.

    Truth be told…it’s a grocery bag.

    I had forgotten to bring my reusable bags to the store this week, so I had an abundance of paper bags.

    I found a pretty way to recycle them.

    Or maybe that would be upcycling.

    I did a lot of sewing on my card bases this time. Much in part to my sewing machine nagging me to use her…well, more like screaming at me… wondering why it’s sitting out if it’s not being used.

    After adhering the sewn base to the folded card stock, I go on to add additional embellishment.

    Sometimes a sentiment.

    Sometimes random bits that speak to me.

    Collage cards are my favorite to make if you hadn’t noticed.

    Making 25 of the same thing is so hard and mind numbing for me. Partially because that involves measuring and partially because I’d need to purchase enough material to make 25 identical cards.  That takes forethought, pre-planning and again, that pesky measuring business.

    I like to mix things up. That’s why I own Fiestaware! I never set a table with all the same color at a place setting. The salad dish may not match the plate on my table. Quirky, I know.

    Quirky maybe a way to describe my card making process. Or perhaps some would say, random.

    Either way…making cards one at a time is the way I prefer.